* While stocks last. Register at kris@krismcintyre.com to get your free mat.

Rated by the Sunday Telegraph’s Body+Soul as one of the best outdoor yoga classes in NSW.

Located on the shores of beautiful Port Stephens just over 2 hours drive from Sydney and 40 minutes from Newcastle, Peppers Anchorage is the perfect place to relax and unwind for a weekend yoga retreat.

Friday 23-Sunday 25 March 2012: Autumn Retreat
Themes: Autumn cleansing, respiration, elimination, improved digestion.

Friday 17-Sunday 19 August 2012: Winter-into-Spring Retreat
Themes: Spring detox, back strength, flexibility, eyesight and stress release.

Designed especially to suit beginners and intermediate levels of experience, each weekend varies to suit the changing needs of the seasons according to Ryoho (a form of yoga therapy combining traditional Indian Hatha poses with the meridian based healing arts of China and Japan). Yoga, meditation, food talks, beach and bush walks are all part of the weekend.

The weekend yoga escape at Peppers Anchorage isn’t a yoga ‘boot camp’ and we don’t have any ‘rules’. We instead provide a platform for attendees to get as much as they want out of the weekend.

From $536 per person, twin share the weekend retreat package includes two nights accommodation at Peppers Anchorage Port Stephens, six Ryoho yoga and meditation classes, a yoga mat, morning beach and bushwalks and a healthy wholefood menu prepared by Peppers Chefs. Optional treatments (at additional cost) available at Shayna Day Spa.

When not stretching out on the yoga mat, guests can enjoy massage and beauty treatments at the onsite Shayna Day Spa and full use of the resort’s leisure facilities including a swimming pool, sauna and the adjacent beach.

For bookings contact Delise McLean at Peppers Anchorage Port Stephens on (02) 4984 0364 or email delise.mclean@peppers.com.au.

Read about Newcastle Herald journalist, Anita Beaumont’s experience on a recent retreat here.

Designed especially to suit beginners and intermediate levels of experience, classes for each weekend will vary to suit the changing needs of the seasons according to Ryoho Yoga Therapy.

17-19 February 2012: High Summer Retreat
Themes: good digestion, weight loss, improving energy levels and kicking sugar cravings!

18-20 May 2012: Mother & Daughter Retreat
Themes: women’s health, sugar cravings, stress release and core strength.

20-22 July 2012: Winter Retreat
Themes: lower back strength, stress release and sexual energy.

12-14 October 2012: Summer Retreat
Themes: power & strength, upper back release, blood pressure & circulation, happy hearts!

Based on the teachings of my renowned teachers, Andzej Gospodarczyk and Lisa Foster, Ryoho yoga combines traditional Indian Hatha yoga with the principles of Yin and Yang, the Five Element Theory and the healing arts of China and Japan. In addressing specific conditions through yoga and food advise, it is also efficient and effective in dealing with conditions ranging from back and neck pain to women’s health issues, weight control, joint problems, stress, anxiety, respiratory and circulatory problems.

My aim in creating these retreats with Peppers and the Golden Door was to create a yoga escape that is approachable, both financially and in terms of accessibility of the program – something that sits between the existing offerings of intense, strict and often expensive health retreats and, at the other end of the scale, the more hippie, bunk-style intense yoga camps which aren’t for everyone.

The weekend yoga escape at Peppers Salt Resort & Spa isn’t a yoga ‘boot camp’ and we don’t have any ‘rules’… we instead provide a platform for attendees to get as much as they want out of the weekend.

Priced from $557* per person twin share, the all-inclusive escape includes two nights accommodation, full buffet breakfast daily, five  Ryoho yoga and meditation classes with yoga teacher Kris McIntyre, a yoga mat, workshops and Zumba hosted by The Golden Door, a 50 minute spa treatment at The Golden Door Spa, wholesome meals including lunch supper on Friday and lunch and dinner on Saturday inspired by The Golden Door cook book and prepared by Peppers Salt Resort & Spa’s  onsite restaurant Season, full use of resort leisure facilities, unlimited in-room movies and more.

Non-residential packages are available from $407* per person including all yoga classes, mat, The Golden Door Spa treatment, one dinner and two lunches.

When guests aren’t striking a pose, they can step out into nature and enjoy a network of beachside walking and bicycle tracks, unspoilt surf beaches, the resort’s large tropical beach lagoon pool, or head to The Golden Door Spa for a wide range of soul soothing spa treatments.

Peppers Salt Resort & Spa is located just 15 minutes from Gold Coast Airport, 60 minutes from Ballina Airport and less than 90 minutes drive from Brisbane.

For bookings call Jolene Napper at Conferences and Events at Salt on 02 6670 5027 or email jolene.napper@conferencesandeventsatsalt.com.au.

Read Lance Richardson’s article in the Sydney Morning Herald here.

Yoga in the Park – Saturday mornings 8.30-9.30am

Saturday mornings: 8.30-9.30am (November – March)

To register, or for more information contact  kris@krismcintyre.com or phone 0406 074 113.
Join the Yoga in the Park group on Facebook here.

Read the Body+Soul’s article on The Best Yoga Classes in NSW here.

Our summer retreat at Peppers Salt Resort is fully booked. We’ll be publishing our 2011 dates soon.

Summer is the season of abundance, creative expression, power and strength – and the perfect season to stretch out on a seaside yoga escape to Peppers Salt Resort & Spa. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, summer is when the fire element is most prominent in the body giving us access to our inner strength, power and a calm still mind.

The retreat is designed for all ability levels from beginners through to experienced.  Based on Ryoho yoga therapy combining traditional Indian Hatha poses with the meridian based healing arts of China and Japan, the Summer Retreat will address specific issues relating to the heart, blood pressure and circulation, whilst at the same time improving our ability to assimilate food, relate to other people and express yourself creatively.

The aim of the retreat is to be a relaxed weekend away in beautiful surrounds with the opportunity to enjoy yoga classes, an indulgent spa treatment and wholesome food. It’s not a ‘hard core’ yoga boot camp’.

Priced from $490* per person twin share, the all-inclusive escape includes two nights accommodation, full buffet breakfast daily, six yoga classes with yoga teacher, author and TV host Kris McIntyre, a yoga mat, Golden Door workshops and demonstrations, a 50 minute Golden Door Spa treatment, wholesome meals inspired by The Golden Door cook book and prepared by Roughie’s Restaurant & Bar, full use of resort leisure facilities, unlimited in-room movies and more.

Non-residential packages are available from $351* per person including all yoga classes, mat, Golden Door Spa treatment, one dinner and two lunches.

Featuring all the luxuries you would expect of one of Australia’s leading resorts, Peppers Salt Resort & Spa offers multiple pools including a large tropical beach lagoon, a network of walking and bicycle tracks, an unspoilt surf beach patrolled 365 days a year at its doorstep, the indulgent Golden Door Spa and award-winning Roughie’s Restaurant & Bar.

Providing the ultimate beach break on South East Queensland’s doorstep, SALT is located just 20 minutes from Gold Coast Airport, 60 minutes from Ballina Airport and less than 90 minutes drive from Brisbane through the new Tugun Bypass.

For bookings or further information phone 02 6674 7777. For more information visit Peppers Salt Resort & Spa.*Conditions apply. Subject to availability.

Dumbo feather, pass it on … is a ‘mook’ – half mag, half book.

For subscriptions and stockists visit www.dumbofeather.com or purchase through the link in my shop.

July 29 – 31, CarriageWorks, Sydney

From July 29 – 31, Oxfam Australia and CarriageWorks will present Exchange for Change, a free three-day festival that will give people the chance to exchange clothes and ideas about how to make ethical fashion choices.

The festival will take place at CarriageWorks, Sydney, and will feature a mass clothing swap where people use their old clothes as currency to revamp their wardrobe, based on the principle that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

The line-up of events will also include a fashion parade by young designers who have taken steps toward producing ethically-made clothing, and a range of panel discussions and seminars about the importance of fair working conditions and environmental sustainability within the fashion industry.

Those not in Sydney can learn how to host their own private Exchange for Change event and about Oxfam’s labour rights work, by downloading an event DIY kit at exchangeforchange.my3things.org.

The line-up of Exchange for Change events includes:

RETHREADS: FREE MASS CLOTHING EXCHANGE
12 – 6pm, Saturday 31 July, CarriageWorks, Sydney

Bring up to 20 clothing items that you no longer want or wear, and exchange them for new pieces to reinvigorate your wardrobe. Last year Rethreads attracted thousands, so check your clothes in the week before for early-bird entry at 11am, and visit exchangeforchange.my3things.org for guidelines on what you can bring.

WALK AND TALK: DESIGNER SHOWCASE
Session 1: – 6.30 – 8pm or Session 2: 8.30 – 10pm, Friday 30 July, Bay 20, CarriageWorks, Sydney
RSVP essential, to exchangeforchange@oxfam.org.au

Watch young, motivated Australian designers showcase the steps they have taken to produce fairer and more sustainable garments. Designers will present up to six of their own garments and will talk about their commitment to leading the fashion industry into a more ethical era.

STORIES: RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
6.30-8.30pm, Thurssay 29 July, Bay 20, CarriageWorks, Sydney

Through an intimate panel discussion, hear from labour rights experts and academics as well as designers and manufacturers about the challenges and rewards of increasing their ethical standards of fashion production. The discussion will be followed by entertainment provided by 2ser.

SEMINAR: BEHIND THE SEEMS WITH OXFAM’S LABOUR RIGHTS UNIT
7 – 8.30pm, Saturday 31 July, Bay 17, CarriageWorks, Sydney

Oxfam Australia has been engaging with corporations including Nike for the rights of workers in the fashion industry for more than 15 years. Hear from Oxfam staff about the progress that has been made and the work that remains ensure workers producing the fashion we love have their rights respected.

For more information visit exchangeforchange.my3things.org

Class 1 – Blood pressure and circulation
Class 2 – Circulation and energy 
Class 3 – Flexibility and hormones
Class 4 – Hearing, eyesight and awareness
Class 5 – Heart and blood pressure 
Class 6 – Balance and confidence
Class 7 – Confidence, strength and vitality

Buy online at my Shop. 

Bending and stretching in beautiful Rushcutters Bay Park is a great way to start your weekend. Now you can join our Facebook page for regular updates on class changes, programs and retreats. You can also connect with fellow yogis! Join here.